All I Want is Christmas (2012)

Seattle movie production company Von Piglet Productions began filming Ira Finkelstein’s Christmas Vacation (now called All I want for Christmas) in early March of 2011. The movie is the story of a young Jewish boy who so badly wants to celebrate Christmas that he traveled to “Christmastown, Washington.” Filming included a large Christmas parade with around 200 townspeople (and visitors!) to act as parade spectators. The route began at the München Haus, traveled west on Front St., turn right on 9th, right on Commercial and right on 8th, and was repeated numerous times.

Chamber members and business owners were asked not to shovel or remove snow if it fell a couple of days prior to the parade shoot. Snow making equipment was also used help with the Christmas look the film needed. 

The story was originally set in Vermont, but after the production company scouted in Leavenworth, the decision was made to change the setting to Leavenworth. There was about 2 weeks of shooting in the Upper Wenatchee Valley. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1847615/

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Tom Cruise and company set up shop at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in March 2019 to film parts of the movie that show the distinctive Cascade Mountain range and other recognizable terrain.

In the movie, Whidbey Island-based Navy EA-18 Growler jets zoom through the Cascade Mountains, over snow-capped ridges and dodging peaks. In the movie, this location is a hostile, unnamed rogue nation.

And another "Did You Know?"

The theme song "Danger Zone", was made famous by Kenny Loggins who was originally from Everett!

The Dark Divide (2020)

When you are surrounded with the kind of beauty we have on the Cascade Loop, its not surprising that movie crews have been coming to the area for years to film movies. The most recent movie, "The Dark Divide” is based on the true story of renowned butterfly expert Dr. Robert Pyle’s (David Cross) perilous 1995 journey across one of America’s largest undeveloped wildlands. At the urging of his dying wife Thea (Debra Messing), the shy author finds himself in over his head on an epic, life-changing expedition through Washington’s Gifford Pinchot National Forest in search of new species of butterflies. 

There have been many award-winning movies, and A-List Celebrities in communities along the Loop and filming in the natural areas and small towns. Sometimes there is just a quick glimpse of a building or roadway, and in some cases, the bulk of the movie was filmed at local locations. If you are running out of movies in your streaming queue – check some of these movies and see if you can identify the filming locations. This location list starts in Everett, and takes you around the Loop clockwise, the direction we recommend you experience it!

Everett

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992) (Also scenes shot in Snohomish)
Sheryl Lee, Kyle MacLachlan, David Bowie, Kiefer Sutherland, Moira Kelly
The home of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) is on Grand Avenue in the Rucker Hill neighborhood. The house recently sold for a cool half-million.

7 Minutes (2014) Also filmed in Monroe.
Levin Rambin, Jason Ritter, Luke Mitchell, Kris Kristofferson, Kevin Gage 

• The drug deal goes down at Rucker Mansion, (pictured at left)
• Kate works night shift at Totem Family Diner 
• The SWAT team arrives — after seven minutes — screeching to a stop in front of Karl’s Bakery on Wetmore. 
• A Scuttlebutt six pack (brewed in Everett) makes an appearance 
• The boys hatch their plan playing pool in the Amber Lite Tavern on Evergreen Way.

The Architect (2014)
Parker Posey, James Frain, Eric McCormack, John Carrol Lynch

Assassins (1995)
Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, Julianne Moore

The Chocolate War (1988)
Ilan Mitchell-Smith, John Glover, Adam Baldwin, Bud Cort

The Core (2003)
Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank

Evergreen (2004)
Cara Seymour, Gary Farmer, Bruce Davison

Outside In (2018)
Jay Duplass, Edie Falco, Kaitlyn Dever, Ben Schwartz, Pamela Reed

Sadie (2018)
Sophia Mitri Schloss, Melanie Lynskey, Danielle Brooks, John Gallagher Jr. 

Monroe 

Butterfly Effect (2004)
Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Eric Stoltz

Evan (Ashton Kutcher) is involved in a brutal prison fight, which was filmed at the Monroe Correctional Complex. Many of the extras were well cast, as they were actual residents of the prison.

Class of 1999 (1990)
Malcolm McDowell, Stacy Keach, Pam Grier

The Vanishing (1993) (some scenes also filmed in Snohomish)
Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland, Sandra Bullock

Newhalem

WarGames (1983)
Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, Dabney Coleman

The gates & exterior entrance tunnel of the NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex were built on an old gravel pit by Goodell Creek, NW of Newhalem, WA.

Concrete

This Boy's Life (1993)
Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Ellen Barkin, Eliza Dushku

The small town in which they finally settle is the evocatively-named Concrete, about 100 miles northwest of Seattle, Washington State.

Shot primarily on-location, the film features scenes of a Concrete transformed to mimic the 1950s time period in which it takes place. There are images of the iconic concrete structure reading “Welcome to Concrete,” as well as downtown storefronts, the historic downtown movie theatre, and local school buildings. Scene also shot in Sedro-Woolley.

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and Deception Pass State Park

Captain Fantastic (2015)
Viggo Mortensen, Missi Pyle, Steve Zahn, Frank Langella

Among the scenic Washington backdrops used in the film are cliffs near Deception Pass State Park, as well as a gorgeous shot of Mount Shuksan, filmed at Artist Point in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Coastal Community Bank in Sultan, Goldbar Family Grocery, and Index General Store all make an appearance.

Mount Baker

The Deer Hunter (1978)
Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, Meryl Streep

The deer hunt itself, though set in the ‘Allegheny Mountains’, was shot 10,000 feet above sea level in the Heather Meadows area of Mount Baker, Washington State, close to the British Columbian border.

Several sequences, prominently featuring Mount Baker in the background, were filmed in the Heather Meadows area of Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Another scene shows the men’s car driving across the Skagit River’s Diablo Dam in North Cascades National Park.

In another scene, De Niro and another man get out of their car to relieve their bladder at a bend in the North Cascades Highway, just across from what’s now Colonial Creek Campground. I think of this moment every time I pass that spot. Maybe there should be a commemorative plaque or something.

Diablo Dam photo by Andy Porter

The Call of the Wild (1935)
Clark Gable, Loretta Young 

Location shots in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, and what’s now the Mount Baker Ski Area. The film follows Gable’s character in what is supposed to be gold rush-era Alaska. Filming took several weeks, and production delays included a blizzard, sick actors and a power outage. In the end, the film was successful, and was also a huge boon for local tourism to the area.

Sedro-Woolley

Bloody Mary (2006) Some scenes also filmed in Bellingham
Kim Tyler, Matthew Borlenghi, Jaason Simmons, Cory Monteith 

Bellingham 

The Grey Fox (1982)
Richard Farnsworth

High Ice (1980)
David Janssen

Anacortes

The Postman (1997)
Kevin Costner, Tom Petty, Giovanni Ribisi, Mary Stuart Masterson

The movie’s final scene was shot in Anacortes waterfront. Bonus: Tom Petty had a cameo.

Deception Pass & Whidbey Island

Double Jeopardy (1999)
Ashley Judd, Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Greenwood

The Ring (2002) Also locations in Monroe.
Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox

Rachel (Naomi Watts) drives across Deception Pass Bridge, at the northern tip of Whidbey Island. The ferry ‘Quinault’ sailed the crossing from Mukilteo to Clinton. That ferry has since been retired. 

Coupeville

Practical Magic (1998)
Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, Aidan Quinn

A seasonal cult classic sets Coupeville as the main setting for its historic, seaport charm.

• Toby's Tavern, known today as a local favorite for Penn Cove Mussels and a beer by the water, was transformed into The Catch and Fry.
• The Knead and Feed Bakery, famous for its cinnamon rolls and baked goods, was Sally (Sandra Bullock)'s shop, Verbena Botanicals.
• The farmers market shown in the movie, shot in downtown Coupeville was stocked with real produce from local farmers and with seafood donated by Penn Cove Shellfish.

Locations in Anacortes also appear in the film.

Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
Ethan Hawke, Max Von Sydow, Sam Shepard

War of the Roses (1989)
Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito